Gonzalez defeating Hagan in 16th

Tuesday

May 8, 2018 at 10:41 PMMay 8, 2018 at 11:19 PM

State Rep. Christina Hagan sought to buck conventional wisdom in her campaign to be congresswoman for the 16th Congressional District.

She branded herself as the anti-establishment candidate most loyal to President Donald Trump, winning endorsements and local appearances by his former aides and the top leaders of the very conservative Freedom Caucus, congressmen Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows. She pointed to her seven years in the Ohio statehouse and the lack of elected experience by Anthony Gonzalez, a former Ohio State and NFL football playe,r who went to Stanford for his MBA and became a chief operating officer of an education technology company.

But on Tuesday, her experience and high-profile national endorsements did not impress enough voters.

As of 10:20 p.m. with 88 percent of the votes in, Gonzalez was leading Hagan with 27,813 votes or 52 percent of the vote to Hagan's 21,923, or 41 percent, according to the Ohio Secretary of State's office. The third candidate in the race Michael Grusenmeyer garnered 6 percent of the vote.

Gonzalez, who lives in Westlake, led in the parts of the district in Cuyahoga County, Medina County, Summit County and Wayne County. Hagan had a narrow lead in Stark County and led solidly in Portage County.

Hagan had lived in Marlboro Township, which is in the 7th Congressional District, until earlier this year when she moved into the portion of Lake Township west of Market Avenue N which is in the 16th District.

Ultimately, Trump himself chose not to make an endorsement in the race as Hagan failed to win the support of prominent local Republicans like Stark County Commissioner Janet Weir Creighton and TimkenSteel CEO Tim Timken, who threw their support to her rival Anthony Gonzalez.

In the six-candidate Democratic primary, Susan Moran Palmer, a health product sales executive who lives in Westlake, led in the vote count with 34 percent of the vote or 11,799 votes. The runner-up was Grant Goodrich, the director of the Great Lakes Energy Institute at Case Western Reserve University, who had nearly 29 percent of the vote or 9,863. Goodrich resides outside of the district in Cleveland. The other four candidates each had less than 15 percent.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.

Sister Publications

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
Times Reporter ~ 629 Wabash Ave. NW New Philadelphia, OH 44663 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service